Black Voters Mobilize Against Voter ID Laws In Wisconsin

"People are doing what they need to do to help their fellow citizens to go and get their IDs," said State Senator Lena Taylor.

The latest polls show Hillary Clinton ahead four to seven points in Wisconsin, but the Democratic nominee doesn’t appear to be taking the battleground state for granted.

Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine and Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton will be campaigning in Wisconsin to help nail it down for Democrats as Donald Trump attempts to make a late push there.

Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor spoke with Roland Martin on NewsOne Now about the battle over Wisconsin just one week ahead of the 2016 election.

According to Taylor, “There is not as much energy as when it was Barack Obama in some ways, but our early voting still has put us very close to the top in the nation” as it relates to voter participation.

The African-American vote is crucial in the state of Wisconsin, especially in the state’s “urban centers.” Sen. Taylor said, “It’s one of the hugest drivers of what the voter turnout will be in our state.”

Voter ID laws could pose a significant barrier for many voters in Wisconsin. Taylor called the voter suppression effort a “poll tax” and said, “This is a situation where individuals who could not afford to get an ID first were blocked, now they’ve done some things where you are able to get the ID, but you have to specifically get an ID for the purposes of voting or you may not be able to get it.”

The state has been admonished for instituting discriminatory voter ID legislation, but “they are still dragging their feet to some degree.”

Despite the efforts to keep African-Americans from the polls, Taylor said, “People are doing what they need to do to help their fellow citizens to go and get their IDs.”

When asked if Donald Trump can make inroads in Wisconsin with his campaign’s late push in the state, Sen. Taylor exclaimed, “Heck no – Trump is not going to win Wisconsin … We are not going to let the hate of Trump win.”

Watch Roland Martin and Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor discuss the battle over Wisconsin one week away from Election Day in the video clip above.